In the midst of the huge growth of foreign visitors, the Singapore Government will upgrade its old airport facility in the northern part of the country. Spanning 160 hectares in the northeastern part of Singapore, Seletar Airport is managed by Changi Airport Group and is home to international aircraft charters, private flights, medical evacuation, maintenance, repair and overhauls as well as freighter operations. But, it will be changed soon.
1. Built by the British Government.
Seletar Airport was built and completed by the British just before the Second World War when it served as a military base. In 1968, it was handed over to the then Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) to manage. DCA became a statutory board, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, which continued to manage the airport until the formation of Changi Airport Group on 1 July 2009.
2. The redevelopment was started in 2008.
Besides the new terminal, the airport has undergone several enhancements, such as the lengthening of its runway and the construction of a new control tower and fire station.
3. Lack of public transport.
It is located in the northern part of Singapore, about 30 minutes away from Changi Airport and 20 minutes from the city. It does not have public transportation connection yet. Passengers are advised to take a cab or limited option of buses to get to this new terminal.
4. It is six times the size of the old facility.
It is designed to handle 700,000 passengers yearly, about 1 per cent the size of Changi Airport’s 62 million passenger arrivals in 2017.
5. This SGD 80 million worth passenger terminal will kick-off its first flight by the end of this year.
Malaysia Airlines’ Subsidiary, Firefly, will be the first to move its operation to Seletar Airport. Its last commercial flight was Berjaya Air until it moved its operations to Changi Airport in 2010.
6. It is much cheaper comparing Singapore’s Changi Airport.
Departing passengers at Seletar Airport will pay just SGD 29 of the Passenger Service and Security Fee, while at Changi Airport they have to pay SGD 47.30.
7. No duty-free shops.
Due to its space constraints, the passengers using this airport will not be able to shop at the duty-free shops. Changi Airport Group (CAG) spokesperson said they may open a collection point for passengers to shop at its online duty-free website iShopChangi.
8. Limited facilities.
The terminal has for check-in counters, six immigration lanes and two security screening stations. The holding room can only accommodate approximately three flights of passengers, equals to 200 people. Only one food and beverage stall.
9. Faster and more efficient process.
The advantages of departing from a small terminal are that passenger will get through to the holding room much faster than the bigger airports.
10. Home for turboprop flights
At the moment, only Malaysia's Firefly operates turboprops at Changi Airport. It currently offers 20 daily flights at Changi Airport - to and from Subang, Ipoh and Kuantan. To free up capacity at Changi, scheduled turboprop flights will be moved to Seletar when it is ready.
Sources: Strait Times, Channel News Asia, Today Online